Chapter 14
"You don't even know how glad I am you're back, man," Ned repeated after five-time today, as they stood with Peter at the lockers after school. "Will you ever have a calm and normal life again?" he joked.
Peter smiled at him, a little tired. Maybe he overestimated his strength, maybe he should have listened to Pepper and stayed home because, after the first two hours he wanted to pack up and go home, his head was aching from all the sensations and noisy students. He could not concentrate properly on school because of the coming migraine and, last but not least, of course, because of his sister. So far he had not been able to find out absolutely anything, it was almost similar to Mary's, no one had any idea about the existence of her daughter, which made his job quite complicated. He knew that if he asked Natasha, she would certainly help him a lot, and she would certainly find out far more than he did because she was simply a master at spying and gathering information. But he promised himself that he would do it alone, that he would solve it himself. He felt he had a right to do so. She was his sister, and he knew that if Nat got involved, she'd start worrying, she could tell Tony and Pepper, and if she could find his older sister, he was sure it wouldn't end well for Teresa. And he didn't want that. He didn't want anyone to hurt her.
“A calm and normal life? Does Peter know words like that?" Michelle appeared with one backpack strap over her shoulder, her hair pulled back in a bun and two wavy strands flowing down her face. Peter looked back at her and had to smile. Michelle was just amazing and beautiful, and he felt more and more in love with her every day, so he leaned over and kissed her. She looked surprised, partly pleased. None of them were a big fan of showing intimacy in public.
"Growing up with my dad and the Avengers, you definitely don't know words like that," he confirmed as they pulled away. Ned chuckled and patted his best friend on the shoulder.
"That's probably true. Come on, lovebirds. Shall we do something? Well, if you can," he asked Peter, who shrugged. He wasn't sure. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem to talk to his parents, but he didn't know if he didn't more feel like going home and recharging his energy after a hard day.
"Are you okay?" MJ asked quietly as they walked out of the school building, slipping her hand into his. "You looked pretty thoughtful at school, and maybe a little sad. Are you feeling good?" He was surprised that she was watching him so closely, and he told her so. But he said nothing to her question. She snorted. "We're worried about you, if you haven't noticed. Why does that surprise you? You're back almost half-dead after so many days you've spent... spent somewhere with some crazy psychopaths torturing you. We care about you, loser. Ned, we'll escort him home."
"Sure," he nodded in agreement and slowed his pace so he could line up next to them, so Michelle walked to the left, Ned to his right, and Peter was in the middle. He had to laugh about it because it looked like the two were his bodyguards.
"Look, guys, I appreciate it a lot, really, but you don't have to. I can take care of myself and I don't need any bodyguards. But you're probably not the only one who thinks the opposite, because I see Rhodey waiting there," he pointed to the black car where his Uncle Rhodes was sitting and raised his hand in greeting. "But if you really want to accompany me so much, I can try to arrange to come home with you.“
"Go ahead," Michelle nodded.
"Yeah, I also want to spend some time with my best friend after a long time, you've been neglecting me completely lately and you're just with MJ," Ned looked seemingly concerned, but his eyes were smiling, so Peter knew he wasn't really angry. He just shook his head at it and promised him that maybe he could come over the weekend to have a Star Wars marathon. "I take you at your word. And now go to Rhodey and ask him to let you go with us. We're not superheroes, but we can protect you." As Peter ran to the car, Ned turned to face Michelle. "Did he really come to your house in the middle of the night in a Spiderman suit?"
•••
Natasha hesitantly stepped in front of the room she shared with Bruce, wondering if she should go inside or not. Perhaps these were the most difficult trials she had ever undergone in her life. And she had to smirk at it because she had done so many things, chased and got so many bad guys, but she had trouble talking to her boyfriend. That's stupid. So she gathered her courage and went inside. Their relationship was still quite fragile, and they both had to work on it and on each other, so she was afraid she would go wrong. She cared too much about Bruce and the thought of losing him... Well, in time she would have to deal with it, but it would hurt. So much.
She was surprised to find that there were half-full boxes on the ground. Bruce stood in front of the closet, pulling pieces of his clothes out. "You're packing already?" Natasha said blankly. Banner looked back at her and smiled a little sheepishly.
"Well yes. I thought we wanted to move as soon as possible so we could be a little settled before Christmas," he replied, looking a little lost at the piece of T-shirt in his hands. "But if you don't want to move yet, I can unpack it again—"
"No," she blurted out quickly so he wouldn't change his mind. "I mean... yes, moving as soon as possible would be great. But are you really sure? I mean... are you serious? Won't you regret it? Are we really ready for it?"
He smiled tenderly at her. He set his shirt on the bed and walked over to her. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. "Nat, yes, we had a hard time. But I never regretted a single second we spent together. Yes, sometimes it's not ideal, sometimes we argue. But it's part of the relationship, and just because I'm upset doesn't mean I don't love you," he told her honestly. "Maybe we're both a little careful about this right now, but I'm sure when we move together, everything will get better and get back on track. I don't mean the quarrels now, but the moments when we were both happy. We both have a past. But we must accept it, not run away from it and not allow it to destroy our common future. Yes, you are Black Widow, bloodthirsty, cold-blooded, and fearless.” She shivered at the words, and Bruce tightened his grip on her hands. "But you're Natasha, too. My Natasha, whom I will protect from that Black Widow inside you. Like you, you protect me from the Hulk."
"Oh, Bruce," Natasha whispered, stroking his cheek. Then she smiled. "I guess I should start packing, right?"